Monday, July 02, 2012

The Kane Chronicles wrap it up

THE SERPENT'S SHADOW by Rick Riordan: I was swept up in Riordan's Percy Jackson series, and I began the Kane Chronicles (starting with THE RED PYRAMID) with a certain amount of skepticism. Really, Riordan had a hit series with Greek mythology and now he's trying to replicate his success with Egyptian mythology? I take it back. Any mythology he wants to tackle will be well-served by his complex characters and their strong voices. The Kane Chronicles are similar to the Percy Jackson series in the immersion in an old mythology that happens to be true in the real world, but Sadie and Carter are far from pale imitations of Percy and his friends.

I recommend, as with any series, starting at the beginning. A reader picking up THE SERPENT'S SHADOW without having read the previous two books won't be completely lost, but the character and plot development unfold throughout the trilogy. Summarizing the plot of the final chapter will spoil the first two books, so I'll just conclude by saying that I was not disappointed in how Riordan wrapped up the various plot and character threads. As a trilogy, the series is both internally consistent and satisfying, and I recommend it to fans of juvenile fantasy.

Source disclosure: I purchased this book.

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